CloakShare
Cloak vs DocSend
DocSend is a GUI-based document sharing tool at $65/user/month. Cloak is an API-first alternative that's open source, self-hostable, supports video sharing, and starts free.
| Feature | Cloak | DocSend |
|---|---|---|
| API-first | Yes | No |
| Open source | MIT | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Video sharing | HLS streaming | No |
| Office documents | DOCX, PPTX, XLSX | PDF only |
| Per-seat pricing | No | $65/user/mo |
| Dynamic watermarks | Yes | Basic |
| Canvas-based viewer | Yes | No |
| Webhooks | Yes | No |
| Custom domains | Yes | Enterprise only |
| Embeddable viewer | Yes | No |
| Teams & RBAC | Yes | Yes |
| Email gate | Yes | Yes |
| Page-level analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Password protection | Yes | Yes |
| Link expiry | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | $0 (free tier) | $65/user/mo |
Video sharing
DocSend doesn't support video. Cloak lets you upload MP4, MOV, or WebM files and automatically transcodes them to adaptive HLS streaming with 720p and 1080p quality tiers. Videos are watermarked with a canvas overlay and protected with per-segment signed URLs.
API-first vs GUI-only
DocSend requires manual uploads through their web interface. Cloak lets you integrate secure document and video sharing directly into your product with a single API call. Automate link creation from your CRM, generate secure links in your onboarding flow, or embed the viewer directly in your app.
Per-account vs per-seat pricing
DocSend charges $65/user/month. A team of 10 costs $650/month. Cloak's Growth plan at $99/month covers your entire team with 2,500 links, 25,000 views, and video support. That's 6.5x cheaper for a 10-person team.
Open source & self-hostable
Cloak's core is MIT licensed and self-hostable. Run it on your own servers for complete data sovereignty. DocSend is a closed-source SaaS with no self-hosting option.